Ronald Jones II, Dirk Koetter discuss rookie's preseason struggles

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted Jones early in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft, hoping to add his explosiveness and big-play ability to a talented offense already loaded with young weapons.

But through four preseason games, Jones has been out-shined by undrafted free agents, struggling to find much running room and putting up shockingly poor numbers for such a high draft choice.

After Thursday night’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in their preseason finale, coach Dirk Koetter and Jones himself talked about his disappointing start (via Pewter Report, The Athletic’s Greg Auman):

Video: Bucs coach Dirk Koetter says rookie RB Ronald Jones’ lack of production in preseason is a concern and he doesn’t have a good answer for why he hasn’t performed well. pic.twitter.com/M19EuXLkXn

Despite the slow start, it’s way too early to push the panic button on Jones’ legacy in Tampa Bay, and I’m betting these four preseason games will be long forgotten after Jones hits his stride in the regular season.